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Veterans calendar proves to be a hit

The Merchants & Farmers Bank in Madison County has issued calendars for about 10 years now, but the one published this year became so popular that they had to send out for a reorder.

"We've done an array of things (as calendar themes)," John Terrell, CEO, said recently from his office in Comer. "Kids playing at school, historical landmarks, farm scenes, customers that had classic cars. Some years are more popular than others, but I think we've had more response to this one than we've ever had."

The bank used 183 photographs of its customers who have military backgrounds. Some photos show the veterans the way they look today, but most are black and white photos dating back to their military days.

The photos are reproduced with information on years of service and which war they served or where they were stationed during their service.

Terrell explained that in soliciting the pictures they advertised for photographs and bank employees encouraged people to bring in photos as they stopped by the bank.

This year's idea for the calendar came about much as past calendars have been compiled.

"Basically, I'll come up with a couple of ideas and e-mail three or four of my contemporaries here at the bank and we choose the best idea. We don't do anything real formal," he said with a laugh.